Nilufer and Alpel's sailing adventures in the Eastern Caribbean. Stories of a lifestyle on a 38 ft Lagoon catamaran, covering from Portorico to Grenada, and from 2011 to date, with pictures.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

New Year’s Eve

Monday was the morning to dock at the Grenada Yacht Club, to
which we applied to become members, to be close to land on the New Year’s Eve.
We had asked around for the best party to celebrate the coming year, and
learned (from young people) that it was at the REX (Grenadian by Rex Resort).
So we made reservations, and arranged Richard to pick us up just before 8:00
pm, and bring us back to the club around 2:00 am. Deniz did not think we could
last that long, but we would play by ear.

Docking at the club was quite a challenge, but Al got it
right! Just look at the picture and wonder how we got squeezed into that spot which
almost touched two other boats form both ends. When we got tied up, I started
to worry about leaving that spot, but wait until that moment comes.

We filled our water tanks, did some clean up, even did some
shopping (Zeynep and I walked downtown to see the souvenir shops, Al bought
champagne). The day passed quickly, and we got ready for the night. I had made
a mistake of telling Zeynep before that I wear something new every New Year’s
Eve, so brings a blouse every time she comes to visit. This year, I was able to
pair it with a sarong that I had bought from Bali, Indonesia, which I liked so
much that I could not bring myself to wear it to the beach. They looked perfect
together!

We looked good, felt even better, and rode the 10 minute
drive. The resort looked fine, but we saw a line-up at the large restaurant
area, which did not appear to be moving at all. When Al inquired, he saw that
some groups in front of us were waiting to be seated. There were some empty
tables, but the large group of seven could not be accommodated somehow. The
hostess was having trouble getting a table for them, which took for ages. The
questions asked by the clients were not answered in any logical way, but we
were seated eventually, and managed to get our drinks and food (open buffet) at
the same time. The personnel seemed overwhelmed by the twenty or more tables
eating at the same time. Oh well, we finished eating, and were eager to check
out the music, which was to start at 9:00 pm. It did, with so much power, that
we could not stay in the vicinity, but had to sneak away into the nice back
yard, form where the music was no longer noise.

Everything nice and dandy, we
found good arm chairs to sit… and the rain started. First we thought of
imitating an old couple sitting under a big tree, to be protected. Are you
kidding, how could some leaves stop the torrential downpour? No luck there, we
had to come in, and find a spot sufficiently far from the DJ with the speakers,
stationed beside the expected dance floor, which was the atrium, open at the
top, facing the stage, where a band was to perform later.

The DJ kept on increasing the volume of the mediocre music
he was playing, so only a few kindred spirits tried to dance in the hallways.
Al and I tried some too, but it was too boring. The dance floor was awash with rain.
Poor Zeynep and Deniz used the only pair of ear-plugs I could find at the boat,
and supplemented one ear with tissue-paper. We sat at the lobby, as far away
from the noise, waiting for the band to appear, a very well-known Trinidadian
band according to the hotel personnel. After two hours, the band did come to
the stage, and set us springing from our seats and out the door immediately.
Their noise was triple of what it had been, and not bearable inside. On the
other hand, well-dressed people started to pour in through the lobby, paraded
in front of us, some of whom even went as far as the dance floor, despite the
rain. Thankfully, Zeynep slept through some of the most irritating parts of the
music.

As soon as it struck 12:00 pm, the fire-works started, just
in the front yard of the resort. We were there to watch, breaking our necks to look
up, and drowned in their smoke. Al took a video of the show, which lasted close
to half an hour.

It was time to call Richard, who responded immediately, and
took us back to Ruyam II. The streets were crowded, especially when we came
close to Port Louis Marina. They were getting ready for a party as well, and
people were still pouring in and out. When we reached the boat, we sat at the
cock-pit, listening to the music coming from across the lagoon (far enough to
deem it kind of pleasant). We had our American champagne, and entertainment,
much better than the one we paid for. Oh well, it was an experience!